Waxwork Review

Disclaimer: Contains spoilers!

Plot Summary: A madman needs victims to bring his wax creations to life.

Review: This is one of those movies that could only come into existence during the '80s. The plot is farfetched and borderlines on stupid more often than not, but it has an awesome conclusion that almost makes it worth the effort to sit through. I know this is supposed to be comical, but the jokes come off as moronic while never accomplishing a full parody. Actually, had they straightened up the script, made the first hour watchable, this could have been legendary. The film does pay tribute to iconic and famous movie villains from the black and white era of cinema but is nowhere near an homage as the likes of, say, "The Monster Squad." We see the usuals like Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, etc. while also throwing in the likes of Romero zombies, B-movie aliens, the Invisible Man, etc. that work to expand the tribute. But because only a handful get screen time, it's not on the level or scale I think they were hoping for; likewise, the villains look cheap as hell and weren't given the attention needed to make them stand out. The story is that some guy has stolen 18 artifacts connected to 18 of the most evil beings in the world and is using them to open pathways of time to lure in unsuspecting victims. Essentially, each wax display represents a villain and the main bad guy, Lincoln, played by the great David Warner, needs to kill someone in each display's little time portal in order to bring the villain back to life. For some reason they won't come to life unless all 18 victims are assembled simultaneously though. The main character, Mark's, played by Zach Galligan of "Gremlins" fame, grandfather collected the artifacts first, but Lincoln killed him and stole the artifacts to create the waxwork. I should note the waxwork is just some house in the neighborhood, which is pure shenanigans, but I suppose it's remotely plausible. Lincoln easily brings idiots to the waxwork by simply asking whoever passes by the house to come in. Once inside, everyone always has a reason to touch one of the displays which pulls them into said display where they become certain characters meant to be killed by the villains. Once the person is killed, they become a part of the display and one more piece of the puzzle is completed. Of course Mark notices this and through his grandfather's friend, Sir Wilfred, they uncover Lincoln's plan. Mark and his little love interest, Sarah (who has this whole '80s hot thing going on), try to burn down the waxwork, but they get pushed into the final displays. Mark realizes that if you don't believe in the magic, and pretty much don't act like the character you become, you are unharmed by the displays which allows him to escape his display. He then helps Sarah escape her display only to discover that two more of their stupid friends arrive and become the final two victims. This is the best part of the film when all the displays come to life including the resurrected victims of the villains. Oh yeah, somehow this whole process will unleash evil that will destroy the world or whatever. Luckily for Mark and Sarah, Sir Wilfred and a band of unnamed heroes arrive to do battle against the displays in one hell of a final battle! This is cool and what the whole film should have been about! I especially loved the part when Mark asks Lincoln why he wants to destroy the world and he casually says, "Somebody has to." Brilliant! Amidst the chaos the waxwork becomes ablaze in fire and everyone dies except Mark, Sarah, and the severed hand of one of the zombies as the film ends with a lame cliffhanger of sorts. Obviously I only rated this film as high as I did because of the great climax, but I would have gone much higher if the whole film could have been of that caliber. So many scenes drag on unnecessarily which makes it so boring at times. Characters are inconsistent in behavior, even Mark, when they bounce between wannabe rich kids and cliched slasher fodder. Certain films would have probably made better choices to be the highlighted displays that a victim gets pulled into. The comedy just wasn't funny, and I can appreciate a lot of the movies they are poking fun at; although, there were stray jokes that were genuinely funny like the kid thinking someone put acid in his drink again. If you're a big horror fan you will probably love this movie, but I can't recommend a movie simply for it's ending. If by chance you see it on TV or something, then just watch the last half hour or so. Now this is the kind of candidate worthy or a remake to fix the mistakes while still keeping what was best.

Notable Moment: At the end when all the displays come to life at the same time. It was probably the idea that the movie was written around which would explain why it was so cool and the rest of the movie sucked.

Final Rating: 5/10